Prince Harry has key figures in his corner amid the outrage over ESPN's decision to honor him with the Pat Tillman Award for Service -- at least 2 former winners say Harry is definitely deserving.

Jake Wood, a U.S. Marine and former college football player who won the award in 2018, tells TMZ … the Duke of Sussex is a natural fit for the Tillman honor because of Harry's military service and his dedication to veterans.

Jake feels Prince Harry is a good choice because he's dedicated his life to serving and supporting the military and veterans -- Harry served 2 tours in Afghanistan -- and that should be commended because there are hundreds of different ways a British royal could live his life.

Remember, Pat's mom, Mary Tillman, set off the controversy when she slammed ESPN for its plan to give the award named after her son to "a controversial and divisive individual" at this month's ESPY Awards ceremony.

Even ESPN personality Pat McAfee is publicly supporting Mary's viewpoint, claiming his network is purposely trying to create a controversy ... allegedly for better TV ratings.

Another previous winner, U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Israel Del Toro Jr., received the Tillman award in 2017, and totally disagrees with McAfee and Mary Tillman.

He says Harry's work with wounded and injured veterans makes him a worthy recipient, and for what it's worth ... he's looking forward to watching Harry follow in his footsteps.

That's ESPN's take too, as it insists Harry was chosen specifically because of his work as the founder of The Invictus Games for wounded and injured vets. Harry's foundation is celebrating 10 years of service.

The notion ESPN selected Harry purely for publicity doesn't make sense to Jake, who points out ... the ESPYs and ESPN aren't hurting for celebs and the ceremony is always chock-full of famous athletes.

Of course, Harry's the first celeb to win the Pat Tillman Award for Service -- in the past, it's been reserved for unsung heroes, but Jake says Harry's military background makes him unlike most celebs.

While Jake's defending Harry here, don't get it twisted ... he says Pat's mother has every right to defend her son's legacy however she sees fit, and, obviously, he does not speak for the Tillman family.